Poker run Saturday for Great Dane group

Terry Wood kneels beside Zozo, a Great Dane that's in foster care until she's adopted. A poker run is being held Saturday to help raise funds to care for these dogs while they await adoption.

Zozo was only 15 months old when the Great Dane gave birth to 13 puppies.

After the puppies were nursed and sold, Zozo was given away. She ended up at the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League. Until she's adopted, Zozo's staying in a foster home with Terri Wood.

Wood first adopted her 207-pound Great Dane, Ryder, in 2004 from the Rescue League. Since then she's volunteered to foster for the organization and has taken in nearly 30 Great Danes. She has two more waiting to come to her home once Zozo is adopted.

"I love them. Great Danes are my breed of choice. They are gentle giants, love bugs," she said. "It hurts when they get adopted, it's like losing a member of the family. But once you get the pictures of them with their new family, it's all worth it."

On Saturday, the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League is hosting Dealin' for Danes, a poker run to benefit Zozo and more than 70 other Great Danes the organization currently has in foster care. Registration begins at 9 a.m. at Busco Beach and costs $5 per poker hand. The poker run has five stops.

In addition to poker, there is also a raffle drawing beginning at 3 p.m., $5 barbecue plates, a dunking booth and mechanical bull. ATVs, UTVs and dirt bikes are all welcome on the poker run. And there will be monetary prizes for the best and worst poker hand.

Brittany West, a volunteer for the organization, said the money raised will go mostly toward veterinary bills for the dogs. She said many of the dogs have suffered from neglect or abuse by the time they get to the Rescue League.

"Obviously with the economy, money's tight. We're always trying to raise money for our dogs," she said. "A couple other rescues have had to close down. We just want to raise money to take care of the needs for the dogs."

West said the main goal of the organization is to place the dogs in a good "forever home" as quickly as possible.

"They are good family dogs as long as you have a big couch," she said. "They are gentle giants, great with kids and great with other dogs. They are all around great dogs that get along with anything and everything."